Catalan Wines

A look back at the 2012 vintage in Catalunya & Roussillon

by  |  01-09-2019

The other day someone wrote to inquire about the 2012 Clos Mogador and what my impressions were of it. While I enjoyed drinking it when initially released, I realized that instead of just talking about... more »

Big Cava flexes its muscles, to pay 30% less for grapes

by  |  19-08-2019

After the departure of the Corpinnat wineries at the start of this year, one would have thought DO Cava didn’t need any more bad press, but yet, it was announced last week that the large... more »

Carinyena Blanca: Tasting a grape that’s finding its place in Empordà

by  |  13-08-2019

Catalunya’s Denomination of Origin Empordà has just announced an institutional plan to “realize the potential” of the grape, Carinyena Blanca (White Carignan.) Going forward this will involve making it a permitted grape as per their... more »

When the village goes dry

by  |  07-08-2019

On July 25th the village of Gratallops ran out of water. A village of 226 people, 23 wineries, three hotels, multiple holiday rentals, and seven restaurants/cafés had neither water to drink, nor to shower with,... more »

Sicus, when wine is made in the vineyard

by  |  12-07-2019

Driving forty five minutes covers a lot of ground in the wine world. It affords a 41km view of the entire Côte d’Or in Burgundy. Similarly, it will see you go from the top to... more »

Terra Alta and the finesse of Garnatxa Blanca

by  |  08-07-2019

For the current issue of World of Fine Wine I was given free rein to write about all that is wonderful when it comes to the Garnatxa Blanca (White Grenache) grape in DO Terra Alta.... more »

Tast del Decenni 2019: The DOQ Priorat 2009 vintage

by  |  02-07-2019

In 2009, the heaviest shoe of the Global Financial Crisis had finally fallen. All the maneuvering, consolidating, and bailing of companies and governments truly came to a head for and was deeply affecting European countries,... more »

A new take on Parellada: Celler Credo – Volaina 2018

by  |  20-06-2019

For anyone learning the finer details of wine, you typically memorize that there are three core grapes to Cava: Xarel·lo, Macabeu, and Parellada. The first two abound in individual merits, especially my Carignan-cheat-grape, Xarel·lo. But... more »

Velles Vinyes: DOQ Priorat releases the most stringent “old vines” definition in Spain & maybe the world

by  |  30-05-2019

When I first started getting into wine, if it said “Old Vines” on the label I would usually buy it. Being Californian, Zinfandel had a regular spot in my shopping cart but this grew to... more »

A judgment in Grenache, Perpignan edition

by  |  22-05-2019

Taking the TGV from Perpignan in the direction of Spain gives you that brief glimpse of what being a protagonist in a billion-dollar superhero franchise must feel like. There’s this rush as you gain more... more »